Causes
by aliasaurorasaccounthasmoved
Summary: Aristotle: “All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire.” What is a child's reason?
1. Chance

_"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire." _Aristotle

* * *

**Chance**

* * *

The sky was orange and the shadows were long. The promise of dinner set their bellies grumbling. They hadn't eaten since noon, but it had been a big meal. They could hold out a little longer.

"I'm an explorer," Al whispered dramatically as he crouched in the tall grass. "I'm going to make a DISCOVERY! Brother, you can help!"

"I wanna be an explorer!" Winry whined as she traipsed through the grasses that tickled her legs. She crouched down next to Al.

Ed pushed her. "You can't be an explorer!"

"Why not? You guys never let me play anything!"

"Girls can't be explorers! Girls are wives and mommies, not explorers."

Winry scowled. "I don't want to be a wife or a mommy. I want to explore, too!"

"Well, you can't!"

"Well, I'm gonna go be an explorer all on my own, so there!"

"Fine! Go!"

Winry stood up and marched away angrily.

* * *

After a half hour or so of exploring, Ed and Al decided it was better to explore their way home to the dinner table, so they marched home, pretending they were in the desert, exploring the ruins of ancient Xerxes.

"Look!" Ed called out to his brother. "I found an ancient, unopened passageway!"

"Where does it lead?" asked Al.

"I don't know yet. Let's open it for the first time in a thousand years!"

After lots of heaving and pushing, they finally managed to shove open the great stone doors enough to edge their way inside.

"I can't see a thing," said Ed, squinting into the cave. "Al, light the torch."

Al held the torch high above his head. "Look, Brother! Ancient wall art!"

Ed screwed up his face as he stared at them. "These must be the king of Xerxes with his queen and their two children, one of which was exceedingly awesome and not short at all. Don't touch the wall art, Al, you might chip away the ancient paint they used."

"Okay. Can I put the torch down?"

"No, Al, how else will we be able to see in the pitch darkness?"

"My arm is tired."

Ed sighed. "Fine, hand me the torch. Now come on. I think I smell some ancient chicken and dumpling soup."

"Would we really WANT to eat ancient soup?"

"It's been preserved with magic, stupid! Come on! Let's go through this secret hidden passageway that no one knows about."

Just then, a brown-haired mummy stepped right in the passageway's opening and roared at them. "Boys, did Winry already get home?"

"It's the thousand-year-old queen of Xerxes!" Ed shouted in fright. "We have to run before she curses us!"

"AAAH!" Al screamed. "Quick, brother, run away! I'll stay here as the distraction!"

"No!" said Ed, eyes widening in horror. "You can't sacrifice yourself for me! It isn't fair!"

"Just go, Brother! I promise I'll make it out right after you! This is the last resort!"

"I'll never forget you, Al," said Ed fervently. They hugged, then Ed took the torch, which he had forgotten for a few minutes there, and ran out of the ancient tomb, which he wasn't sure had always BEEN a tomb, but it was now.

"Hurry back or dinner will get cold!" shouted the thousand-year-old queen of Xerxes.

Ed ran through the desert, abandoning his torch again, and shouted for Winry.

* * *

Meanwhile Winry, the super famous and way-better-then-those-meanie-boys world-renowned female explorer, was marching through the exact same desert and was getting pretty bored. She almost wished she had settled for being the wife. At least when she was the wife, she didn't have to play all ALONE.

She was about to heave a big sigh and start heading home, but just as she was in the middle of doing so, she saw... AN ANACONDA!

Winry screamed and dashed away from the anaconda at top speed, and kept running even after it was clear that anacondas were not the 'pursuit' type of animal, even after she realized it was a garden snake which could have no more squeezed her to death than a pancake.

In fact, she kept on running and running until her foot caught in a depression in the ground, probably the hole of a rabbit or another 'anaconda', and she went down.

Hard.

Her foot cracked sickeningly.

Winry laid on the ground for a few seconds, motionless. Nothing hurt, which was probably a very bad thing. Seconds later, her reeling brain hooked a carp.

Winry started screaming.

* * *

"Winry? Winry? WINRY!" Where the heck WAS that girl? Ed had been combing the desert for seven years, seven months, seven weeks, and seven days, but there was no sign of the wannabe exploreress anywhere. He was a hair's breadth from giving up and returning home on the assumption that she had already done so herself.

Luckily for her, Winry chose that moment to make her location unmistakably obvious.

Hearing her cry out in pain like that, Ed abandoned the game and raced towards the sound of her voice. "Winry!" he shouted.

As Ed neared her, his stomach twisted.

Her knees and palms were bleeding and dirty, she was sobbing uncontrollably, and her foot was sticking out unnaturally. She appeared not to notice him arriving.

Ed had broken an arm once before; he knew how scary and painful it was. He crouched next to her and waved his hands in front of her to get her to focus.

"G-get my mom," she begged.

"Can you move it?" he asked, voice trembling even though he tried to appear calm.

She shook her head. "It hurts!"

"Stay here, okay? I'll go get help."

"Wait!" Winry shouted. "Don't leave me here all alone!"

"How else am I supposed to get help?"

She just looked at him.

Ed dropped to her side again and petted her hair. "Just stay calm, okay? I'll be right back. And—and—and—and if you're calm and wait nicely, next time we play you can be the explorer and I'll be the wife, okay?"

"Promise?" she sniffed.

"Promise."

* * *

"Really," Trisha would comment later to Pinako in the Rockbells' living room after Urey had set a cast and Sara had convinced Winry to go to sleep for a few hours (they had given her a little dose of acetaminophen, too: good for pain relief, better for the placebo effect), "what are the chances she would fall in a snake's hole while running from a different snake?"


	2. Nature

"_All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire." _Aristotle

* * *

**Nature**

* * *

"Brother! Come look!"

"What is it, Al?" Winry asked, craning her neck to see the little boy perched in the tree.

Ed came over to investigate. "What'd you find, Al?"

Al pointed to a place in the tree a few branches higher than where he was sitting. "It's a bird's nest!"

"Oh, Al, don't touch it!" said Winry. "If you do, the bird will abandon its babies!"

"I know!" said Al. "The little birdy-babies are so cute, though!" Al was captivated by the little animals, totally disregarding the fact that he was being insensitive by gushing about the birds. "Brother, come look too!"

Winry sighed and looked at the cast on her leg. "I wish I could see 'em..."

Al looked down at Ed, standing under the tree looking up, and Winry, sitting under the tree looking down. "You don't want to see the birdy-babies?" he asked, cocking his head.

Ed's eyes flicked to the unhappy Winry, then back at Al. "I've seen birds before, Al. Even baby ones."

Al shrugged. "Whatever you say. I'm gonna stay up here and watch them."

Ed sat down under the tree next to Winry.

Winry pulled her good knee up to her chest and rested her chin on it, reminding herself that Al didn't mean to do it. He was a sunshiny child by nature, and loved animals (especially kittens, but he loved all of them, really). It wasn't_ his_ fault she'd broken her foot and couldn't come up to see.

On the other hand, Winry could never figure out what it was that made Ed do what he did. He defied explanation.

"You don't want to climb the tree?" she asked.

Ed snorted. "What, am I supposed to be _scared_ of it?"

"You don't like baby birds, then." She was positive.

He shook his head. "I like 'em just as much as any other animal."

She frowned at him quizzically.

Ed shrugged and stared ahead. "Didn't want you to be the only one who can't climb up."

Winry stared at him for a few more moments, then gave up.

She never would quite understand him.

Protective by nature, this boy would, just five years from now, sacrifice his own right arm to return his little brother's taken soul to the earth. Ten years from now, he would throw himself in the path of certain death to get Winry out of it. Ed would never get over this protective streak.

Time changes a lot of things, but nature isn't one of them.


	3. Compulsion

"_All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire."_

_

* * *

_

**Compulsion**

* * *

"Oh, Ed," Trisha sighed.

"Don't look at me like that, okay? She was askin' for it!" Ed folded his arms across his chest and pouted at his mother.

"It sounds to me like she was just a little annoyed with you."

"You're taking her side just 'cause she's a _girl_!" he accused.

"You made her cry."

"She's a baby!"

Trisha didn't react to Ed getting steadily louder and more upset. "Okay, honey," she said, patting his hair. "Go play inside for a while."

"No _way!_ You're punishing me just 'cause stupid Winry tattled?!" Ed looked betrayed.

Trisha shook her head. "It's not punishment." She offered a distraction: "Al missed you. Why don't you go upstairs and play quietly with him?"

"Ew, not a chance! He'll get his sicky-germs all over me!"

Trisha couldn't think of anything else to say, and she needed to finish hanging up the laundry. "Go inside for a while," she told him, soft-spoken but authoritative.

Ed looked at her, his golden eyes filled with unshed angry tears.

Trisha met his gaze. He really _did_ look exactly like Hohenheim, she thought again. "Then go next door and apologize for hit—"

"Aw, Mo-om!"

"—for hitting her, and then you can play outside again," she finished.

Ed glared at her until he decided he didn't think she would budge. "Fine," he grumped, then turned around and headed inside to cut through their house to the front yard.

* * *

"I said I'd say sorry to stupid Winry..." Ed was mumbling to himself, "but I never said I'd _mean_ it..."

This reminded him of that time Dad had taken him aside after a similar incident...

_"Son, never tell a woman something you don't mean."_

Not that it meant anything to him now. Where was Hohenheim to do the enforcing of that mandate, anyhow? Off being an abandoner, that's what!

Ed stomped through the house, hoping some dirt might fall off of his shoes and onto the floors, slammed the front door as loudly as he could, murdered some pansies, and finally met Winry in her front yard. Judging by the fact that Sara was standing on the porch watching her limp her way over, Ed decided she had been heading for his house too.

"I'm sorry I hit you."

"I'm sorry I called you a stupid meanie liar head."

They stared at each other in silence.

What now?

"I'm not gonna hug you," he told her.

"Good, 'cause I don't want a hug."

"Well... good, 'cause you're not getting one."

"Good," she sniffed arrogantly.

"Good," he responded, crossing his arms.

"Good!" she said a little louder, needing to have the last word.

"Good!" Ed shouted in her face. "And know what else? I won fair and square!"

"Nuh-uh, you stupid dumb meanie liar head!"


	4. Habit

_"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reason, passion, and desire."_

_

* * *

_

**Habit**

**

* * *

**

"Why do we have to play upstairs in your room?" Winry complained. "It smells like socks." She grabbed her nose and held it to make the point.

"That's just Brother's feet," said Al. "Come sit by me and the smell should go away."

"'Kay." She got up, limping on her foot brace.

"My feet don't stink THAT bad," Ed grouched, throwing a toy train at her and missing purposely. "You're just exaggerationing it."

Winry laid down on the floor next to Al's bed (he was better today, but he'd told Mom he was still sick so he could have ice cream whenever he wanted) and stretched out her limbs."I know we have to be quiet and nice 'cause your mom's friend is over, but I'm booooored! Let's go play in the fields! That won't bother your mom. And Ed, you promised to be my wife, remember?"

"We can't play in the fields," said Ed, shaking his head quickly.

"Why noooot?"

"'Cause there are snakes there. And the snakes will bite your toes off, and wrap them in little boxes with bows: red ones. And the snakes sell them. Illegally, to the Tooth Fairy."

Winry frowned at him. "What does the Tooth Fairy need toes for?"

"Same reason she needs teeth."

"What reason is that, Brother?"

"Mom says she just likes them," said Winry. "That's why she pays you a whole ten-cenz piece for good teeth."

"She gives me and Al a hundred cenz. No, a THOUSAND!" Ed bragged. "Your teeth must _really _suck, Winry."

"My teeth don't suck!"

"The tooth fairy doesn't give us that much money, you big liar!" Al interrupted.

Ignoring Al's own outburst, Winry grimaced at Ed, showing off her pearly whites. "See?"

"I have an idea!" Ed exclaimed, ignoring the indignant pair of children. "Let's play fetch with Den at Winry's house!"

"Isn't there snakes in the grass?" Winry asked. "How are we gonna play without getting bited?"

"She'll growl at the snakes and make them go away!" Ed's plan was absolutely foolproof.

"But what about me?" Al whined. "I'm not allowed outside!"

"And that's your own fault for pretending to be sick, isn't it, Al? Be careful what you wish for. C'mon, Winry, let's go before we catch the fake-sick virus, too." He stood, grabbed Winry's wrist, and heaved.

"Ow! My foot, stupid! Be careful!"

"Oh! Sorry." He patted her head in apology and waited for her to get up on her own power.

"Man, you guys aren't nice," Al complained as they left.

"He'll get over it," Ed assured Winry as they were descending the staircase (slowly, due to Winry's condition). "He just wants to make us feel bad about leaving him."

Winry sighed loudly. "I guess."

"Shh. Mom wants us to be quiet, remember?"

"Then shut up," she suggested.

When they both were quiet, the voices in the sitting room started to carry up the stairs. "...What are your kids like?"

"Oh, Edward and Alphonse are absolute angels. They love to play with the other kids around here, especially the Rockbell girl next door, and they're both very good readers, no patience for picture books at all."

"That's good! Reading is a good skill to have. If they like books, more power to them. It'll make them better studiers too, Trisha. You know, if you can keep them interested in reading, you're sure to send a boy to college, if not both. What else do they like to do? I can't imagine there being all that much to do in this area; it's so quiet..."

"Well, little Alphonse loves to play with the animals, so I'm always having to chase after him and make sure he doesn't get bitten by anything rabid. Edward generally keeps him out of trouble, though. Edward is a very conscientious big brother, despite the occasional sibling fight."

"Do they tussle often?"

"As all kids do. Edward's a little hotheaded, so he's usually the cause of those issues. Also, he has this habit of going all kung-fu on anyone who makes fun of him, if you know what I mean."

Both women laughed.

"I do not!" Ed protested loudly. He was now standing at the bottom of the stairs waiting for slow Winry.

"Edward?" Trisha called. "Is that you and Alphonse on the stairs? Al, go back to bed!"

"It's only me, Ms. Elric," said Winry.

"Oh, okay then," Trisha allowed.

"Who's that girl?" asked the visitor.

"That's Winry Rockbell, the neighbors' girl. Her parents are both doctors and her father's mother is an automail mechanic. I think she used to live in Rush Valley before she had kids and moved here, but that was before we moved in."

"Hurry UP!" Ed urged Winry. Six more stairs, how long could it possibly take?

"I'm going, I'm going! It's hard to walk 'cause my foot hurts when I step on it and I have to hop to get down each step and I have to be careful not to fall and it's not easy! So just shut your big fat mouth, 'kay!?"

"Ed, Winry," called Trisha from the sitting room. "Come here for a minute and say hi to Mom's friend Pam."

"But we wanna go outside and play!" Ed whined. He didn't want to hang out with a bunch of OLD people!

"Hmhm, honey, I can't hear you complaining when you shout through the house; you'll have to come in here."

Slouching in annoyance at his mother's inability to become as irritated as he regularly did, Ed trudged into the sitting room and stood in the doorway, looked at his mother's friend, nodded at the tall redheaded woman, muttered, "Hi," and hurried out. Winry, who had made it down the stairs by that time, walked straight into him and they both toppled over.

"Oww!" both children shouted at once.

Trisha and Pam got up to investigate, and when they saw the kids were both okay, Trisha teased, "She's already had one broken bone this month; does she really need another?"

"Sorry, Winry," said Ed out of habit, before his mother could tell him to do it. He got up and helped her stand, then looked at Trisha and Pam expectantly. Wondering when they was going to go away.

"Oh, I see how it is," said Pam, feigning insult. "You'd rather play with your little neighborhood girl friends than share the same room with your boring mom and her boring friends."

"You're being silly!"

"Hm, you don't have to lie to make me feel better—I know how it really is! I'm just a dull old wart, aren't I?"

"Nuh-uh, Ms. Pam, you won't be a wart for at least a hundred years!" Winry cut in. "'Cause my daddy calls my granny a wart and she's a hundred and ninety."

"Is that true?" Pam asked, leaning down a little now so she could be on the kids' eye level.

Winry nodded excitedly. "Yep, she told me so with her very own face!"

"Her OWN face?" Pam repeated in disbelief. "Get outta here!"

"Yeah, it's true!"

"Wow! Well, in THAT case, it MUST be true!"

Trisha could no longer hold in a giggle. "Oh, stop it, Pam, messing with their brains, really, are you four or what?"

She stood up straight and grinned at Trisha. "Oh, but they're just too cute! Look at this little one's big blue eyes! And your son too, Trish, he's going to be a little heartbreaker when he's bigger! Makes me wish I had my own."

Trisha glanced down at her now-fuming son, then back at Pam. "I'd be careful if I were you. Remember how I told you he has a habit of—"

"I am not LITTLE!" Ed screamed at the top of his little lungs, looking like he was inches from steam blowing out of his ears. He glared at Pam, then grabbed Winry's wrist and dragged her along as he stormed out angrily, tripping her up immensely as she tried to remain upright despite her impediment. As soon as they were outside, Ed punted an imaginary yard-snake and stomped around in the grass. "AAARGH! Why does everyone SAY that?!"

"I dunno, Ed. Maybe 'cause you're shorter than everyone in our class."

"Nuh-uh! What about that one kid?"

"He's not in our grade."

"He counts!"

Winry stared at him for a moment, then reached out and patted his head sincerely, just as he had patted her earlier. (The crown of the head was, as far as anyone could tell, the only part of the human body incapable of transferring cooties.) "I'm sorry adults call you short and little and stuff all the time, Ed. I would be mad, too, if it was me."

Ed patted her in return. "You're a good husband, Winry."


End file.
